


Know Any Spells?

by Suzilee11



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bottom Merlin, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Magic, Merlin's First Time, Merlin's Magic Revealed, Top Arthur, evil Morgana, experienced arthur, feeling confessions, magic traps, morgana dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-15 07:17:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17524259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzilee11/pseuds/Suzilee11
Summary: Uther has been made aware of the potential location of Morgana. Arthur, Merlin and the Knights ride out to to go investigate , unaware that Morgana left the trail on purpose, and upon getting separated land in Morgana's trap.Merlin thinks that Arthur doesn't know about his magic, but he does. The truth is revealed when Arthur asks Merlin if he knows any spells to get them out of their situation.





	1. Morgana's Trap

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Merthur fic so please let me know what you think and if you like it leave a kudos for me.  
> Enjoy guys.

Arthur POV

Arthur was very bored. He was sitting in the great room while his father went through a list of things that needed to be discussed with the court. He was about to fall asleep when the guards opened the doors and escorted someone into the room. He was clearly a farmer and looked nervous about being there in front of the entire court, but he had a hint of determination to him as well. 

Uther stepped forward to speak, “Who are you and what is the reason for your presence in the court?” Arthur felt a pang of worry for the farmer at his father’s face, Uther did not like to be interrupted when meeting with the court and the man would most likely find himself in the dungeon if he did not have a very good reason for being here. 

“My name is William my Lord, I come from the village of Ealdor. I am here to report sightings of magic and the Lady Morgana. I and many other people from our village have seen magic many times within the last week. I have traveled three days to Camelot in order to report these sightings.” 

Arthur sat up straighter in his chair at this. It was guaranteed that his father would send him out with some knights to investigate these sightings, finally giving him something to do. The last few weeks had been boring for Arthur with only training with the knights and feasts with others kings from other kingdoms who Uther was trying to form alliances with in this new fight against magic, and namely Morgana. 

“And you’re positive that is was Morgana that you saw?” Uther asked William, looking like he wanted for the man to be wrong so he could lock him in the dungeons, but also partially hoping it was true so that he could catch Morgana and decide what to do with her. 

“Yes, my Lord. I am positive. She was wearing a ceremonial cloak with the Pendragon insignia on it, and what was happening around her was definitely magic.” 

“Thank you for your information. I will see to it that you are paid for your help and loyalty to Camelot.” 

With that the guards escorted William from the hall and presumably took him to receive his money as payment for his information. 

“Now I think we shall change the agenda for this meeting. Arthur, gather up a group of your best knights and set out for Ealdor first thing tomorrow morning. I want you to follow any possible signs or trail and find Morgana. When you do I want her brought back here. DO NOT come back without her.” 

“Yes sire.” Arthur responded before the meeting was adjourned and he left the hall to find Merlin. As he walked down a corridor on the way to his chambers he found Merlin talking to William, he just caught the end of their conversation as Merlin said goodbye and William started to walk back towards the entrance of the castle. “Merlin.” He called as he walked closer. 

“Arthur. Is there something I can help you with?” 

“Yes, can you pack me some things for a journey? We are leaving for Ealdor first thing tomorrow morning with some knights.” 

“Ealdor Sire?” Merlin asked, seemingly quite shocked. 

“Yes Merlin, Ealdor. Is there a problem with that?” 

“No sire. What are we going there for? Do we have to stay in the village?” 

“The man you were just talking to, William, has informed us that Morgana has been spotted just outside of Ealdor and we are going on a quest to find her and bring her back. We probably won’t be staying in Ealdor for any extended period, just long enough to talk to anyone else that has any information for us.” 

“I will start packing for you now.” Merlin said, turning to walk towards Arthur’s chambers. 

“Thank you Merlin.” Arthur said, before heading back the way he had just come to go outside for knight training and to talk to the knights that he was planning on taking with him. He would only take his best men to help him find Morgana, they were going to need all the strength and power that they could get. 

“Sire, I hope you don’t mind that we started to train without you.” Leon said as he walked up to Arthur when the Prince arrived in the training area. 

“That’s fine Leon, I do need to speak with you though. Just wait here for a moment” Arthur said to Leon before he walked over to the rest of the knights, who seeing that Arthur was now there, were gathered in a loose group waiting for their instructions. “Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine and Elyan can I speak with you all?” Arthur walked over to where he had asked Leon to wait for him and the other 4 knights followed him. 

“We have a quest to undertake. Tomorrow morning at first light I need you 5 to ride out to Ealdor with me. We have received information that Morgana has been spotted outside of the village. The King has ordered me and my choice of our best knights to ride out and find her, we are not to return without her. I am not going to lie, this may be a very dangerous task, but I hope that you will be willing to undertake the challenge.” 

“We will sire.” All 5 of the knights said at the same time. 

“Very well, as we need to be well rested I will excuse you all from training today so you can spend the evening preparing for a long journey. It will take 2-3 days to reach Ealdor.” 

“Thank you sire.” Replied Lancelot. 

Arthur dismissed his five best knights before walking back to the rest of the knights and instructing them through training for an hour before retiring back to his own chambers for the night. Arthur ran into Merlin as his manservant was exiting his Prince’s chamber. 

“Sorry Arthur.” He mumbled. 

Instead of apologising, as he rarely did that, Arthur instead asked Merlin, “Has my dinner been brought up yet?” 

“I was just going to get it now Sire.” He looked kind of miserable and also worried, it was a strange combination but it was one that Arthur was not so happy about seeing on Merlin’s face. 

“Get a second meal while you are there for yourself. Just tell them I requested a second meal if they try and give you any trouble in the kitchens.” Arthur said, he thought that maybe if Merlin ate with him that he might be able to get him to talk about what was making him look so worried and miserable. 

“Yes sire.” Merlin replied, looking quite confused now as to why Arthur would allow him to get a meal from the kitchens for himself instead of him just eating the normal lower quality meal he would eat with Gaius. After replying he walked away and Arthur walked into his Chambers and laid down on his bed whilst waiting for Merlin to return. It didn’t take very long before Arthur heard the heavy wooden door being opened and sat up to see Merlin entering his Chambers. Merlin set the plates down on the table, both in Arthurs place before turning as though he was about to exit the room. 

“Where are you going Merlin?” Arthur asked him. 

“To Gaius’s room sire.” Merlin said. 

“Sit down and eat with me tonight Merlin.” Arthur stated, rather than asked. 

“Are you sure Arthur?” 

“Absolutely.” Arthur said as he sat down and pushed one plate to the seat next to him. Merlin tentatively sat down as though he thought that he was about to get told it was all a joke and then get sent away. “Merlin, I promise that I am not going to suddenly send you away. Just eat will you, you’re all skin and bones. I don’t think you eat enough.” 

“Thank you sire.” Merlin said quietly as he picked up a strawberry and slowly started to nibble it. Seeing Merlin start to eat, Arthur took a bite from his own plate, enjoying the taste of the chicken, and finished the bite before he looked back up at Merlin who was starting to eat properly now and decided to start trying to find out what was bothering him so much. 

“Are you alright Merlin?” 

“I’m fine.” He stated.

“Are you sure? You definitely don’t look like you are alright.” 

“It’s nothing Sire.” 

“Merlin!” Arthur said sharply, not quite in a yell but certainly in a slightly raised voice. “I can tell that something is up and I know that you are lying to me right now. Tell me what is wrong. Perhaps I will be able to do something to help you.”

Merlin audibly sighed and looked down at the table with his hands now under the table where he was wringing them together in his lap. “I’m just not so sure about this quest, and I’m worried about Ealdor.” 

“Okay.” Arthur said, considering all of Merlins words carefully. “Why are you so unsure about this quest?” 

“Well we are looking for Morgana aren’t we? She has magic and she is smart, we could be walking into some kind of trap that she has set up.” 

“I guess that that is true Merlin, but I can’t disobey a direct order from the King, and hopefully she has just been careless and it will be the perfect opportunity to find her. I know that it is dangerous but she is also dangerous and we need to stop her.” 

“I know that, I just have a bad feeling that this is all a trap.” 

“I understand that Merlin. You don’t have to come with us, you can stay here and continue to help Gaius. I would never ask you to come on a journey this dangerous and risk your life.” 

“I’m coming. I could never let you go on a dangerous journey without me.” Merlin said, his loyalty to Arthur seeping into every word he spoke. Arthur was slightly speechless, he had never heard such loyalty from someone before and it struck him in a way that he did not recognise, a strange new feeling that left him wondering what was happening to him. Trying to shake it off he instead asked Merlin about his other concern. 

“Why are you so worried about Ealdor then? I know that you don’t want any more people to suffer because of Morgana but you seem specifically upset about it being anyone from this particular village.” 

“Well umm, I guess I’ve never told you anything about my life from before I became your servant, but I was born and raised in Ealdor. My mother lives there and so does my best friend. My best friend is actually William, the one that came to report the sighting of Morgana. There are a lot of people that I know and love in that village and I don’t want any of them to be hurt, or worse.” Merlin’s voice was shaking as he neared the end of his answer and his eyes were shining in a way that said he was about to cry. Arthur suddenly felt a pang of pain at the thought of Merlin loosing anyone that he loved and vowed to himself that he would do anything and everything that he possibly could in order to stop Merlin from losing anyone. 

“Merlin, I promise you that I won’t let Morgana hurt any more people.” Arthur solemnly promised. 

By now they had both finished eating and were just talking, or making huge promises and self-discoveries in Arthur’s case. Arthur was ready to retire for the night so he was well rested for the early morning start. Before he could say anything about that though Merlin stood up and grabbed the plates. “What are you doing?” Arthur asked him. 

“I’m taking the plates back to the kitchen.” Merlin said, as though it should be obvious. 

“Leave them. Someone will come in here once we have left tomorrow to check if there is anything that needs tidying.” 

“Are you sure Arthur?” Merlin asked nervously. 

“Of course Merlin, don’t worry about it. Go back to your room and get some sleep. We are leaving at first light.” 

“Okay, just let me help you get ready for bed first.” 

As Arthur went behind his changing screen and removed his clothes to be replaced with his bed clothes, Merlin turned down Arthurs bed, removed the heating pan from between the sheets, closed the window, that for some reason had been left open despite it being a chilly day, and put the fire out so that no unwanted fires could be started during the night. Arthur emerged from behind the changing screen and climbed into bed as Arthur walked around the room putting out all the candles and walking over to the door. 

“Goodnight Merlin.” Arthur called before Merlin left the room. 

“Goodnight Arthur.” Merlin said softly as he left, closing the door behind him and going to his room and getting straight into bed after telling Gaius that he will be leaving for a few days with Arthur. 

Back in Arthur’s chambers, the Prince laid in his bed staring up at the roof. He really wanted to get some sleep but he couldn’t seem to be able to fall asleep as much as he tried. The feelings that he had felt at both Merlin’s loyalty tonight and when he had seen the man almost crying in front of him confused the young prince. He had never felt this feeling before, but it was strong, and it was directed entirely towards Merlin. Eventually Arthur fell into an uneasy sleep with a strange combination of dreams all containing images of himself and Merlin doing different things. When he did wake up in the morning it was with the last image that his subconscious had conjured for him still visible in his mind’s eye. Covered in sweat Arthur shot up into a sitting position as he woke, shaking and more confused than he had been the night before, but also now very sure about what the feeling he had meant. He liked Merlin, in more than just a friendly way as well, he was attracted to the man. Still shaking and sweating Arthur dragged himself out of bed and started to get ready to leave. He firstly used the wash basin in the corner of his chambers to wipe the sweat off of himself before getting dressed in his breaches, long Camelot red tunic, chainmail and leather boots. He was just about to start putting his armour on over his chainmail when Merlin walked into his room. 

Merlin paused when he saw that Arthur’s bed was empty and he started to look around the room before he spotted Arthur standing near the wardrobe holding a piece of armour. He quickly walked over looking like he was about to get into trouble for not having been here earlier to help Arthur get dressed. “I’m so sorry Arthur. I was grabbing some food from the kitchens for the journey.”   
“It’s fine Merlin. I wasn’t expecting you just yet, I woke up early and decided it would be best to just start getting ready.” Arthur explained. He felt there was no reason to tell Merlin about his dreams and discoveries of the night, and that he felt it might be better if he were to dress himself instead of having Merlin dress him. 

“I’ll help you with your armour.” Merlin said and stepped forward to start putting all of Arthur’s armour on. Both men stayed silent throughout this process, Arthur trying as hard as he possibly could not to look at Merlin as he puts all of the armour in place, touching Arthur as he does it. As soon as he has everything on Arthur steps back from Merlin, but he doesn’t notice the movement as he has already turned around to grab Arthur’s bag. “Ready Arthur?” 

“Yes. Let’s go.” 

The two men walked side by side through the castle in silence until they reached the entrance where a few stable boys were waiting with 7 horses. As Arthur and Merlin mounted theirs horses the other 5 knights, Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, Percival and Leon, all walked out of the castle together. 

“Morning boys.” Merlin cheerfully greeted them. 

“Morning.” The 5 of them all replied in sync. 

The knights all mounted their horses and turned to Arthur. “Alright, let’s get going.” Arthur said and the 7 of them turned their horses around and rode out of Camelot and out towards Ealdor. The all just rode in silence for a few hours until Gwaine started to complain about being hungry, so they stopped for lunch and a break from riding. As Merlin got down off of his horse he winched a little bit as though he was in pain. Trying to keep things normal between them, Arthur decided to tease Merlin a little bit as he always did. “You look a little sore there Merlin. Is your little bottom sore?” 

“Yes.” Replied Merlin. “It’s not as fat as yours.” Arthur couldn’t help but laugh at the indignant look Merlin was giving him, but at least things felt normal for the moment and Arthur’s thoughts had stayed well away from where they had been earlier that morning. 

Laid out on the grass eating some bread, cheese and meats the group joked around with each other and laughed. Everything was always different between them all when they were outside of the walls of the castle, and even more so when they left Camelot. They weren’t the Prince, his knights and his servant, they were just a group of men who acted as though they were all best friends.   
Although, to be fair most of them were anyway. Today was a lot warmer than it had been for the past week, and the sun was biting, so before starting to ride on again, the group decided to walk a few meters away from where their horses were to a nice slowly flowing river for a refreshing swim. 

Being the types that had no problem showing off as much skin as possible at any given time, Gwaine and Percival were the first 2 to whip their armour, chainmail and shirts off before starting to loosen their breaches as well. By the time Lancelot, Elyan and Leon had removed their tops layers of clothing and armour, Gwaine and Percival were already in the river splashing each other with water in just their underpants. Lancelot, Leon and Elyan soon joined them, just sitting in the water at the side of the river enjoying the cool water against their skin and watching the other 2 mess about. Merlin and Arthur were still standing on the river bank. Arthur wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to get into the river or not but after a moment of consideration thought ‘what the hell’ and started to remove his own clothing. After entering the water himself he noticed that Merlin was the only one not in the water cooling off. 

“Are you coming in Merlin?” He asked, partly because he didn’t want Merlin to end up getting heat stroke and partially because he just wanted to see what he looked like under his shirt. He was sure that he couldn’t be as lanky as he appeared, there had to be at least a little bit of muscle under there. 

“I don’t think so.” Merlin replied, almost sounding nervous. 

“Why not? It’s so nice in here.” Gwaine said. Arthur knew that Gwaine was really close to Merlin and figured that if anyone was going to be able to convince him it would be Gwaine. 

“I just don’t feel like it. I’m not that hot so I don’t really need to cool down.” 

Arthur had to disagree on one of Merlin’s points, but he did it in his head instead of out loud. As Merlin said, ‘I’m not that hot’ Arthur couldn’t help thinking ‘Yes you are, you’re more than hot.’ But he quickly shook his head to clear it of that particular thought and watched Gwaine and Merlin now arguing before Gwaine and Lancelot looked at each other. A second later they both jumped out of the river with lightning speed and had grabbed a hold of Merlin before he had a chance to even try and run away. Lancelot held him in a tight grip so that he couldn’t move away whilst Gwaine tried to pull his shirt over his head. 

“Gwaine! Get off of me!” Merlin almost yelled, desperate to get away from the two men holding onto him. “GWAINE! I’m warning you.” 

Gwaine just laughed, as did the rest of them. “Exactly what are you going to do to me Merlin?” 

“I’ll figure something out.” Merlin spat.

Merlin continued to struggle against the 2 knights and Arthur was torn between wanting to do 2 different things. 1) He wanted to tell Gwaine and Lancelot to get off Merlin and leave him alone, 2) He wanted to let them keep going as he was able to see that although Merlin was quite small, he also had some strength about him as well. He may have been losing the battle of keeping his shirt on, but he was making them work for it. In the end though, the two men got Merlins shirt off before Arthur could make up his mind on whether to say anything or not, and in one swift move had his breaches down as well before pushing him into the river and then getting back into it themselves. 

“I hate both of you.” Merlin said to them as he turned away from them all so that they couldn’t see the front of his body and quickly got back out of the river to put his clothes back on. Unfortunately for Arthur, he didn’t get to see anything except Merlin’s back and arse before he had his clothes back on, but that was enough. A picture of Merlin’s arse, his underpants stuck tight to his skin, had frozen in his mind’s eye and it was all he could see at the moment. Arthur continued to watch Merlin as he walked the few metres back to the horses and sat down against a tree. He really did look genuinely upset about having been thrown into the river and Arthur was suddenly worried that he should have stopped Gwaine and Lancelot before they had gotten that far. Getting up out of the river, Arthur got redressed and walked over to Merlin, sitting down beside him, but with enough space between them so that they weren’t touching. 

“Are you okay?” He asked Merlin tentatively. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure? Because you don’t look fine to me.” Arthur probed, wanting to know the real reason behind the expression on Merlin’s face. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Merlin replied irritably, as though he was quite reluctant to be having a conversation with Arthur at the moment. Standing up, Merlin started to walk over to where they had all eaten lunch whilst continuing to talk. “I’m going to pack everything up. I think it is probably time we got moving again. We still have a lot of riding to do.”

Arthur considered his words for a moment and realised that they had been sitting here and swimming for a while. It was definitely time to move on. “I’ll go inform the others.” He said as he wandered off back down to the river and left Merlin on his own. When he reached the river he saw that it was no longer just Gwaine and Percival splashing each other with water. All 5 of the knights still in the river were in the middle of a large water fight, theirs limbs flying everywhere as they all tried to splash as much water on the others as possible. “Hey!” Arthur called out to get their attention. “It’s time for us to move on. Let’s go.” The Knights all groaned as they made their way out of the river and started to get dressed. They were not happy that their fun was being stopped, but they knew that had a task to do and didn’t dare argue with Arthur about it. When they had all dressed, they made their way over to the horses, where Merlin was just finishing untying the last horse. 

“Ready to go Merlin?” Leon, Arthurs second in command, called out as they approached. 

“Yes, everything is ready to go.” Merlin replied. Each Knight worked over to their horse and mounted it whilst Merlin got onto his horse and they all set off to start riding again. Merlin lingered to the back, something Arthur noticed as he looked back to make sure everyone was okay and realising that his servant wasn’t by his side. Slowing down, Arthur allowed the other knights to pass him as waited for Merlin to reach his side. It was clear to Arthur that Merlin was not paying any attention to what was happening around him as he rode, as it took him a few minutes of riding along next to Merlin before the young man noticed who was riding beside him. He jolted in surprise when he looked and saw the Prince riding beside him, causing Arthur to laugh lightly at the reaction. 

“Why are you riding behind everyone else?” Arthur asked Merlin. 

The young man avoided meeting Arthurs gaze as he spoke. “I thought I could ride behind and look out for any possible trouble.” He said. 

“But you usually ride next to me.” Arthur stated. 

“I know I do.” Merlin replied. “I just wanted to make sure that someone was behind the group to look out for any trouble.” He continued to avoid Arthurs gaze as he mumbled the next part almost too low for Arthur to hear, almost as though he wasn’t intending for Arthur to hear him. “I’m less important so it would be better if I got hit first anyway.” 

This made Arthur furious. There was no way that he was ever going to let Merlin be attacked by anyone else. He would risk his own life to save that of his servants. He has already done so on countless occasions, just as he knew that Merlin had also done the same for him. “What did you just say?” He asked, almost yelled really, as he pulled on the reins to get his horse to stop so that he could discuss this without the rest of the Knights hearing the two of them. Noticing that Arthur had stopped, Merlin reluctantly stopped as well, for he knew that he would make Arthur even angrier if he just kept riding. 

“Nothing.” He mumbled, not wanting to repeat his words in the hope that maybe Arthur just hadn’t quite heard him properly and therefore didn’t know everything he had just said. 

“No Merlin, you didn’t say nothing. What did you say?” There was silence between the two as neither of them said a word. Merlin was avoiding looking at Arthur, whilst Arthur was staring straight at Merlin who was refusing to answer him.  
Realising that Merlin was not planning on saying anything, Arthur decided to keep talking. He lowered his voice and spoke in a much nicer tone than he had used before. 

“Do you really believe that you are less important than the rest of us?” 

“I don’t think that.” Merlin said, and Arthur started to relax slightly not realising that Merlin hadn’t finished his sentence. “I know that I am less important than the rest of you.” He stated. 

“You really think that?” Arthur still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“Yes.” Merlin whispered in response. 

“You need to listen to me Merlin.” Arthur said very seriously, “You are not less important than the rest of us. You are ... Shut up.” Merlin had opened his mouth to protest but Arthur was not going to listen to it.” “You are the most important of all of us. I don’t care if my father says that servants are worthless and unimportant, he is wrong. You are extremely important, not just to me but also to the Knights and to all of Camelot. I cannot count the amount of times that you have saved my life and the lives of my Knights. You are the reason why so many people in Camelot are still alive. You’re the reason that I am still alive Merlin. 

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t important.” 

Merlin looked like he had tears in his eyes and Arthur felt like he did too. Merlin opened his mouth to reply but found that he couldn’t get any words out to say anything so he closed it again. Instead of speaking he made a small movement with his head to say that they should keep moving, so they both started to ride again. It only took them a second to realise that the Knights were nowhere in sight and had obviously been riding the entire time that Arthur and Merlin had been talking. 

“Where are the others?” Merlin asked, looking at Arthur nervously. Arthur knew the reason behind that look, and was now nervous himself. 

“They mustn’t have noticed that we had stopped. How long were we stopped for anyway?” Arthur asked. 

“I’m not sure. Maybe 10 minutes.” Merlin said with uncertainty. 

“Shit!” Arthur spat out. “I never should have stopped. Come on, they were only moving slowly. If we move quickly we can still catch them.” Arthur said as he kicked his horse lightly to signal he wanted to move and stared moving at a run away from Merlin. Merlin quickly did the same and was riding alongside Arthur in second’s as they had their horses cantering away to catch up to the rest of the group. Arthur wasn’t worried about his knights but at the same time he was. If they came across a threat from another kingdom or a wild animal he knew that they would be fine. They would easily overpower either enemy and come away mostly unscathed. However, if they came into contact with Morgana then they were less likely to get away at all. Starting to really panic as they still didn’t see a trail of the knights Arthur urged his horse to move faster, looking at Merlin at the same time so that he knew what Arthur was about to do. They rode for a further 15 minutes, not coming across a single trace or track that proved that the knights had even ridden this way. They had to have though, it was the way to Ealdor and they knew that. 

“Where the hell are they?” Arthur let out in anger. He knew that if they hadn’t followed the path to Ealdor that they were in trouble, and big trouble at that. Stupidly he decided to try calling out their names in case they were close by. 

“LEON!! PERCIVAL!! ELYAN!!” He listened closely for any sound that could be an answer, but heard nothing. Arthur was so busy listening for any sound of response that he almost fell off of his horse when he jumped at the sound of Merlin’s scream. 

“GWAINE!! LANCELOT!! CAN YOU HEAR US?” 

It was clear that Merlin was now also as scared as Arthur himself was. His two best friends were apparently missing and Merlin didn’t like it. Arthur didn’t say anything though as he was still listening for a response, or any sound that may indicate a near-by location of a person. 

Suddenly Merlin screamed out again, although this time it was not a name. It was a scream of pain, of pure agony. Arthur whipped his head around to the sound and saw Merlin lying on the forest floor next to his horse, his arms wrapped around the torso of his body, eyes squeezed shut tight, his mouth stretched wide letting out a truly horrific sound. Arthur had never heard anything like it. “MERLIN! MERLIN, WHAT’S HAPPENING?” He was about to dismount his horse to get to Merlin’s side when he saw Merlin shaking his head and desperately trying to form words. 

“It’s magic….” He gasped out between screams of pain. “It has…. to be. Go Arthur. Morgana must have found us.” Arthur was literally unable to move. He wanted so desperately to move to Merlin’s side to try and stop his pain but he couldn’t. He was stuck. “ARTHUR GO!” Merlin screamed at him. 

“I can’t.” Arthur said. “I can’t move Merlin. My limbs are stuck as though they have been glued.” 

Merlin let out another agonised scream and Arthur started to desperately struggle against whatever it was that was stopping him from moving, but it didn’t work, and Merlin continued to scream, and each scream punched a new hole though Arthur’s chest. Merlin was in pain and there was nothing that he could do to help him. He was suddenly distracted from his struggle when he caught sight of something moving slightly in his peripheral vision and turning his head, the only part of his body that he could move, he saw a figure half shielded from his view by a tree and half visible. Although Arthur couldn’t see much, he could see enough. He would recognise this person anywhere, he had grown up with them as though they were his very own sibling.  
It was Morgana. With Merlin’s screams still piercing through him when he opened his mouth to speak the only thing he managed to do was scream. “MORGANA!! STOP THIS! RELEASE MERLIN FROM THIS SPELL!” 

The only response that Arthur got was a high pitched laugh he had never heard from her before. It almost sounded like a cackle instead of a laugh and it chilled Arthur straight to the bone as the sound travelled around them and lingered as though it was echoing around a large empty hall. 

“And why should I do that?” Morgana asked him, a huge and positively terrifying smile on her face. In some sick way she was clearly finding enjoyment in hearing Merlin scream in pain whilst Arthur was unable to move and help him. 

“Because he doesn’t deserve this. He has never wronged you. It is me, father and the Knights of Camelot that you really want.” Arthur was not expecting for her to start laughing again. She started walking forward as she spoke now, stepping into full view so that Arthur could see clearly how much she had changed since she had left Camelot. 

“Oh Arthur. You have no idea. I don’t just want who you think I do. I want everyone who has ever lived in Camelot, or even set foot inside the citadel walls.”

“But why?” Arthur asked. He really had no idea where she was going with this now, but he didn’t care as much as he probably should as Merlin was still under her spell and continued to scream. 

“Because they all turned their backs on me, just like Uther did, and just like you did. I want them all destroyed and the kingdom to be mine. And I think that I will start with you too, and the Knights that you foolishly bought out here with you.”   
“Where are they? What have you done to them?” Arthur still had enough sense to ask after his Knights, but he was quickly losing it as he was still desperately fighting the magic around him and it was starting to consume almost all of his senses. 

“Don’t worry Arthur. I haven’t harmed them. Yet.” Arthur was about to ask what she meant by that when she continued to speak. “They have simply been led the wrong way and will soon enough meet a trap set to catch them. I will deal with them once I have dealt with you two. However I still need some supplies before I can deal with you, you followed the trail I purposely left a lot quicker than I had thought, so for now I will just have to contain you.” 

Arthur watched in horror as she raised her hand and her eye’s glowed gold as she spoke a foreign language. Suddenly he felt himself starting to lose consciousness. The last thing he remembered was falling from his horse, hitting the ground hard and passing out to the sound of Merlin’s continued agony. 

 

 

Arthur slowly awoke, stretching his muscles and feeling soreness with his eye’s still closed. He was lying on something rather hard and was wondering whether he had fallen out of bed in the night again, and was consequently waking up on the floor of his chambers when he suddenly remembered everything that had happened before he lost consciousness. Sitting up with a fast jolt his head spun as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was in a small cave with the opening a mere 6 feet in front of him. That seemed strange to Arthur, why would Morgana leave him in a cave with nothing stopping his escape? Unless she had expected to be back before he woke up. That was the only explanation he could think of, so standing up quickly he walked towards the entrance to the cave and tried to exit it only to find his way blocked by an invisible barrier that zapped him, causing a stinging pain to shoot through his body as he had tried to cross the threshold of the cave. He gasped in surprise as well as pain as the feeling engulfed him, and suddenly he realised why Morgana had thought it safe to leave them there. The cave entrance had been blocked by magic and he was unable to pass through it, therefore Morgana had prevented him from being able to escape.   
Arthur hadn’t even realised that he wasn’t alone until he heard a groan coming from the back of the cave and turned around to see Merlin lying on the floor. 

Quickly he rushed to his servant’s side and lifted Merlin gently into a sitting position, leaning him back against the cave wall. “Merlin? Merlin, can you hear me? Are you okay?” It took a moment for Merlin to answer, and in that moment Arthur had started to panic. 

“Arthur?” Merlin asked, trying to blink his eyes open. 

“Yes Merlin, it’s me. Are you alright?”

“I think so.” Merlin said as he started to move his limbs. “What happened Arthur? All I remember is extreme pain before I passed out.” 

“Morgana found us. You were right about the trail she left being a trap. She put some spell on you causing you immense pain and immobilised me while she spoke and then she must have used more magic to render us both unconscious. I woke up a few minutes before you did.” Arthur explained, leaning back against the wall and sitting closer to Merlin than he normally would, but right now he felt like he needed to. 

“So where exactly are we then?” 

“Some cave. I don’t know where. Don’t bother trying to escape by walking straight through the entrance though. It’s spelled. You can’t get though. I already tried.” Arthur grimaced. He didn’t like this entire situation. His knights were out there somewhere, although he had no idea where. As was Morgana, collecting things she needed to destroy us all and would most likely be torturous and painful before she finished.

“Where are the Knights then? Does she have them?” Merlin asked, only just now starting to panic as he thought about Morgana hurting them. Arthur had noticed the way that he always cared for others before himself, hurting himself to stop them being hurt. 

“I don’t really know Merlin.” Arthur replied, sounding defeated. “She said that she had led them on a different path to what we were meant to be taking, and that they would eventually meet a trap that she had set up for them. But even if she does have them she said that she was planning on getting rid of us first, so I guess they are safe for a little while longer at least.”

Merlin looked as though he didn’t know how to process this, and Arthur had no idea how to himself, so the two of them just sat in silence inside the cave. Arthur tried to think of ways that they would be able to get out but nothing seemed like it would actually work. After sitting around doing nothing and saying nothing for about an hour Arthur finally couldn’t stand it anymore, so he started to try and attempt an escape with some of the most likely not going to succeed idea’s that he had thought of. 

Getting up he walked back over to the entrance of the cave and starred at it for a minute. Merlin finally broke the silence from behind him at that very moment. “What are you doing?” He asked. Arthur didn’t answer, he just bent down and picked up a large rock by his feet and took a few steps back. Then, summoning all the strength he could muster, he threw the rock with all his force towards the entrance and watched as it sailed straight out of the cave and stopped on the ground a few meters outside of the cave. Arthur started in shock at where the rock had gone straight through the barrier that had been there before when he had tried to exit in shock. Had the weight and force of the rock managed to break the barrier? Could there escape really be that easy? Arthur took an optimistic step forward, and then another and again attempted to walk out of the cave but once again as he tried to place his foot over the threshold, he felt the stinging shoot through his body once again and quickly stepped back. 

“Did you really think that would work?” Asked a sceptical voice behind him so he turned around to face Merlin. 

“Not really but I tried it anyway.” Merlin smiled and appeared to have laughed lightly at Arthur’s answer to his question, which made Arthur angry. “Have you got any better ideas then?” he almost spat out in his anger. Merlin’s smile disappeared as he looked at Arthur seriously. 

“Arthur, nothing we try is going to work. This barrier was created by magic, and therefore magic will be required to remove it.” Merlin did not look happy about saying this and Arthur understood why. If he was indeed right, which he most likely was, then they were not going to get out of here. Arthur walked over to the back of the cave and sat down leaning against the wall of it, this time with a meter or two between him and Merlin. They sat there in silence for about another hour before Arthur suddenly remembered something. He knew exactly how they were going to get out of this. 

“Do you know any spells?” He asked. Merlin’s head shot up to look at Arthur so quickly that the prince was surprised that Merlin didn’t break his neck when making the movement. 

“What?!” He asked in a high-pitched voice that clearly showed his shock at the words that Arthur had just spoken. 

“I asked do you know any spells to get us out of this thing?” Arthur asked again. 

“Of course I don’t!” Merlin kind of shrieked, staring at Arthur in pure horror. “Why would you think I know any magic?” 

Arthur couldn’t resist rolling his eyes now. He knew that Merlin had magic. Had known it for quite a long time now. It was hard not to notice the gold glow in his eyes when something miraculous happened that saved Arthur and his Knights’ lives so many times. He could understand Merlin’s look of horror and the fear in his eye’s though, it was a crime in Camelot to practice magic and if Uther found out Merlin would be executed. But having seen how magic could be used for good and how it had saved so many lives so many times, there was no way that Arthur believed that magic was pure evil. No way that he was ever going to allow his father to execute Merlin for his magic. 

“Merlin.” Merlin had looked away from Arthur now. “Merlin, look at me. Please.”

It was ‘please’ that did it. Merlin looked back at Arthur, his eyes still filled with fear but his expression telling him something else. “Merlin, I know that you have magic. I have seen the golden glow in your eyes a second before something almost impossible happens and the lives of you, me and Knights are all saved. I’ve seen it many times before. If you were trying to hide it from me then you did a pretty bad job. I have known for a long time.” 

Merlin still showed fear, but he was also looking confused. It was as though there was still something big that didn’t make any sense about what Arthur had just said. “If you have known for so long then why am I still alive?” 

Five little words. That’s all it took. In those five little words Arthur suddenly realised multiple things. All the different feelings and instincts that he had towards the younger man all made sense to him now. His instinct to protect him, to risk his own life in order to save Merlin's, his attraction to him, and most recently the pain that he himself felt when he heard the screams of agony that were ripped out of him. He was in love with his servant, that’s what it was. He loved Merlin. Shit, this wasn’t a good thing. Well it was but it wasn’t. His father would never allow it, at this very moment his father was still trying to find a suitable princess for him to marry, not to mention the fact that the kingdom would never follow a king that had a husband instead of a wife, even if his father did miraculously allow it to happen. 

“Merlin. I have seen the good that you have done with your magic. You have saved my life and the lives of my men so many times that I don’t see magic the same way that my father does. I know that it can be used for good and would never punish someone for practising magic unless there was proof that they had used their magic for evil. I will never tell my father about this though. I promise Merlin, you are safe.” Arthur had never meant anything as much in his life as he meant what he had just said. He would protect this man from his own father no matter what. 

“You’re seriously not going to tell the king that I have broken the laws of Camelot?” Merlin looked as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The expression on his face would have made Arthur laugh if the situation they were in and the conversation they were having wasn’t so serious. 

“I swear to you Merlin that I will never tell him, nor would I ever let him punish you for it if he did find out.” Arthur swore to Merlin.

“But why? I’m just a servant. You could replace me easily with someone better.” 

“Because as much as you are my servant you are also my only true friend. Everyone else only wants to be my friend because I am the prince and they will constantly lie to me in order to stay friends with me. You are different Merlin. You tell me the truth all the time, even though sometimes it could land you in the cells for a few days as punishment for your insolence. You’re one person in my life that I definitely don’t want to lose.” Arthur was trying to convey what Merlin meant to him without explicitly stating that he was in love with him. Arthur continued to look at Merlin as tears filled Merlin’s eyes. Quickly he looked down before once again asking the question that he still didn’t have any answers to. “So, Merlin, do you know any spells to get us out of here?” 

Merlin, instead of looking back at Arthur, walked towards the exit of the cave and had a look, sticking his finger out to try and pass through the barrier. He jumped back quickly when he felt the same stinging pain shoot through him that Arthur had felt when he had tried to walk through it. “Merlin, I did tell you that it stings when you try and pass through.” 

“I know that Arthur. But I had to feel it to get an idea of the magic used to create it.” Merlin explained. He actually laughed a little at the look of confusion that was now on Arthurs face. 

“What the hell are you talking about Merlin?” He asked. 

“As someone who practices magic I can feel when there is other magic around me and I can also feel some of the magic in a spell by touching it, or the object that is affected by it. It helps me sometimes as by being able to sense the spell I can sometimes figure out a spell to use to fix the situation.” Merlin explained. 

Arthur still looked extremely confused but pretended to understand what Merlin was talking about. “So can you do anything about it?” 

“I think I know a spell I can use but I’m not entirely sure that it will work. You may want to stand back a bit.” 

At Merlin’s warning Arthur stepped back so that he was closer to the back of the cave than the front. He watched as Merlin turned to face the entrance again, braced himself with his feet shoulder length apart and raised one hand in front of him. “Ic bebeode þisne sweord þæt hé forcierfe þá bende þæra dracan. Un clýse” Merlin said, casting the spell that he hoped would get them out of there. There was a big bang and Merlin flew backwards, hitting the wall at the back of the cave and landing on the ground. 

Arthur rushed to his side. “Merlin, are you okay?” He asked, his tone thick with worry. 

“I’m guessing that didn’t work.” Merlin said as a response. He sat up and put a hand to his head on a spot that was obviously sore, but thankfully not bleeding.

“No, I don’t think it did. But are you okay?” Arthur asked. 

“I’m fine. But we are still stuck.” 

“Do you know any other spells? Any that won’t give us the same result as that last one did.” 

“I know a few, but I cannot tell you if any of them will work or not. I wasn’t able to get anything from the spell to know how it was cast.” Merlin explained. 

“Well there is nothing we can do but to try them. Just be careful please.” Arthur said, concern once again filling his tone. He did not want Merlin to cast any spells that might cause harm to him. 

Merlin, confused at the concern that Arthur was showing him, just nodded before turning to face the entrance again and concentrating before trying his next spell. “Aliese duru rýne” 

This time Merlin didn’t go flying backwards through the cave, however there was a large ‘bang’ and sparks, and when trying to walk through the barrier Arthur was once again hit with resistance and a stinging pain. “Any other ideas?” He asked Merlin through slightly gritted teeth because of the pain. 

“Yes, still a few more options yet.” 

Merlin tried multiple more spells, all with varying reactions occurring but none allowing the two men to leave the cave. By now Arthur was sitting on the ground at the back of the cave with his head in his hands. He was starting to think that they were never going to get out of here, at least not until Morgana made it possible. Which means they would not be leaving unless they were dead. Arthur listened to Merlin as he cast yet another spell, “Lasa n-uile fil ocum ocus lasa nuile fil indium, ar-focraim atot-oilg! Lasa n-uile fil ocum ocus lasa nuile fil indium, atot-oilcfe, gìallfae dom” and instead of another sound of failure, this spell caused no sound but Arthur still expected it to have failed until he heard a loud cheer. Opening his eyes and looking up, Arthur saw that Merlin was standing outside the cave, smiling and staring straight at Arthur. 

“Are you coming Sire?” Merlin asked as Arthur got up off of the ground and ran towards the exit of the cave, this time passing through without any resistance or pain. 

“You did it Merlin!” Arthur cheered and ran at Merlin to hug him, only having gotten one arm around him before quickly stopping and moving back. “Thank you!” He said instead. “We should get out of here.” 

They both looked around to see if their horses were nearby, and were extremely glad when they found them next to a nearby cave. They were also very glad to find that the rest of the Knights were also in that cave. For reasons that were both good and bad to Arthur, all 5 of them were unconscious. This was good as it would allow Merlin to use his magic to get them out without 5 more witnesses to his magic, but it was also bad as they didn’t know how long it would be before Morgana would return and therefore they needed to get them out, awake and as far away from here as possible. Turning to look at Merlin, Arthur saw that he was looking back, so he nodded to tell him to break them out and watched this time as Merlin cast the spell that removed the barrier to the cave.

“Lasa n-uile fil ocum ocus lasa nuile fil indium, ar-focraim atot-oilg! Lasa n-uile fil ocum ocus lasa nuile fil indium, atot-oilcfe, gìallfae do”

As Arthur was this time watching the spell being cast he saw that there was a light shimmer before the appearance of thin clear objects being shattered. As the spell broke Arthur and Merlin both ran forward and checked to see that all the Knights were all alright. Having checked that they were all breathing they tried to shake them awake, but nothing was working. 

“Morgana must have used magic to make them sleep.” Merlin said to Arthur. At the look of concern on Arthur’s face he added, “Don’t worry. I know a spell to use. They will be fine. Ic acwoce the!” 

It took a moment but the Knights all started to stir until they were all awake and looking around confused. 

“What the hell happened?” Asked Lancelot. 

“Where the hell are we?” Asked Gwaine. 

“We are in a cave somewhere. We are not sure where. Morgana found us all and we were trapped by her. Merlin and I were in another cave about ten metres away from this one. Come on, we have to go. Now. We have no idea how long we have until she gets back, and when she does, we will all be killed.” Arthur said. 

“We really need to get out of here now.” Merlin added. 

Leaving the cave, Arthur, Merlin and the Knights quickly saddled up their horses and took off back towards Camelot. 

 

Merlin POV

As they all rode closer to Camelot, Merlin started to feel the familiar tingle and hear the slight hum that he had become accustomed to feeling when there was strong magic nearby. The feeling was strong enough that Merlin new the magic was close by and that it was being fuelled entirely by anger, or more likely, by pure rage. The rage was what made it instantly obvious to Merlin that it was Morgana. She had found them all missing and was furious, but the bigger issue was that she was on their trail and moving fast. Checking on what Arthur was currently doing, and finding him distracted in deep conversation with Leon, Merlin started to slow down and pull away from the rest of the group until he was roughly 40 metres behind them. First checking again to make sure that he hadn’t been caught, he came to a complete stop on his horse and then dismounted before leaving the clearing to slip behind a large tree and tie his horse up.   
Merlin could feel Morgana getting closer and he was going to make sure that he was ready for her this time. He wasn’t going to let her get the jump on him, leaving him incapacitated and unable to stop her. Luckily, she had no idea that he was a sorcerer and wouldn’t have any idea as to how they managed to escape the caves she had left them all in. 

It didn’t take long. Roughly 2 minutes passed before Merlin saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and looked to see that Morgana was walking into the clearing, looking around to make sure she was still following the trail. Merlin waited until she had walked past the tree that he was hiding behind before stepping out, making sure that he was as quite as possible. He quickly and silently cast a spell that immobilised Morgana, stopping her from moving or from being able to use any of her magic back on him. At first, he was just planning on stopping her moving and knocking her out so that they could get her to Camelot without her being able to cause any more trouble or harm, but now that he had her at his mercy, he wanted to taunt and tease her a little bit. After all, it had been him that had stopped every single attack that she had ever made against Camelot, preventing her from having been able to steal the throne. 

As he walked around Morgana to stand in front of her, Merlin smiled at the look of horror on her face. “Merlin!!” 

“Hello Morgana.” 

“Who is with you? What sorcerer have you been working with? Where are they?” Morgana asked. 

Merlin just laughed before he responded to her. “Ohh Morgana, have you really never figured it out? How do you think every attack you made against Camelot was always stopped from within the citadel walls? How do you think Arthur has miraculously survived attacks and poisons that were a death sentence?” Merlin paused for a moment to let his words sink in and was delighted to see the look in her eyes when she realised exactly what he meant. 

“You mean it was you? You’re a sorcerer?” She asked in disbelief. 

“Yes Morgana. I am.” 

Although she was still shocked at the news, Morgana suddenly developed a strange glint in her eyes that looked a lot more like amusement than fear. “Do you really think that this bind will hold me Merlin? I’m a High Priestess of the old Religion, no magic can stop mine.” She stated. 

“Actually Morgana, there is magic that can stop you, and you know it. I know you do. You have had visions with a name, the name of a great sorcerer whose magic is stronger than even yours, haven’t you?” The amusement disappeared from her eyes at that point, and the fear once again returned. 

“How do you...” She started to say. 

“How do I know? I just do.” 

“whether it is true or not, why should it bother me right now. That sorcerer is not here, only you Merlin, and your magic could never be stronger than mine.” As she finished speaking her eyes glowed gold, her face set in a look of concentration as tried to break the bind that was holding her. A slight spark was visible as the spell faded and failed to break the bind. “This isn’t possible, only Emrys has the power to match my mine.” She mumbled to herself, forgetting for a moment that Merlin was standing right in front of her and could hear her mumbling. 

“Oh Morgana, did I forget to tell you my name among the Druids?” Morgana starred at Merlin in complete confusion, clearly oblivious as to where he was going with this. “I see I must have. How rude of me, I guess I shall have to introduce myself properly. I’m Emrys, the sorcerer that is more powerful than the High Priestesses of the old Religion. “

Morgana now looked like she was about to pass out, and Merlin suddenly heard horses coming towards them before Arthur called out his name. Before Morgana could say a word, and before the Prince and his Knights reached them, Merlin placed Morgana in an unconscious state with some quick magic work and unbound her. She wouldn’t be able to regain consciousness anyway until Merlin woke her up, so there was no need for her to be bound anymore, and it would help Merlin story if she was lying on the ground. 

“Merlin!” Arthur called out as he rode close enough to see his servant. Merlin turned around at his name being called and saw that Arthur and all the Knights had stopped riding and dismounted their horses. Arthur and Lancelot were staring at him with a knowing look, whilst the other Knights were staring at him in disbelief. 

“But how?” Percival asked. 

“Merlin, what happened?” Arthur asked. Obviously, he knew how Merlin had used to magic, but as he had to keep that a secret, he was acting as though he had no idea. 

“I umm, I heard a something when we were riding through here and I wasn’t sure if it was an animal or if Morgana was following us, so I stopped and hide behind that big tree...” He turned around and pointed at the tree, “and waited to see. When Morgana came through, I waited till she had passed the tree and knocked her out with a small log.” 

“Good work Merlin.” Gwaine said, walking forward and clapping his best friend on the back. “Maybe we could make a Knight out of you.”

Merlin couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I don’t think so Gwaine. I’ll stay with the job I have.” 

All the Knights joined in and laughed with Merlin, even Arthur managed a smile.   
“Let’s get going then.” Arthur said when everyone had finished laughing, “We need to get back to Camelot before Morgana wakes, otherwise who knows what she will do.” 

Quickly as possible the Knights got Morgana up onto Percival’s horse. He was strongest and therefore would be able to keep her on the horse and ride it at the same time with little problems, he would also be able to restrain her, or even knock her out again if he had to, if she was to regain consciousness on the way. Merlin knew that she wouldn’t, but no one else did. Once Morgana and Percival were in place, the rest of them all mounted their horses and started to ride back to Camelot. Merlin and Arthur stayed to the back of the group and rode a small distance behind so that they could talk without being overheard. 

“You didn’t really knock Morgana out with a small log did you?” Arthur asked Merlin, his expression saying that there was no point in Merlin lying to him as he knew magic was exactly how he had done it. 

“I know you already know the answer to that.” Merlin stated, what was the point in confirming it when he knew Arthur knew?

“How did you do it?” Arthur asked, curiosity written all over his face. 

“Well I did hide behind the large tree, just like I said, but when Morgana walked past, I didn’t hit her with a log I bound her with a spell. A body bind, just like she did to you earlier. Then I spoke to her a bit before casting a spell to put her to sleep. She won’t wake up again until I remove the spell.” Merlin explained. 

“But that means that Morgana knows that you have magic!” Arthur stated in alarm.  
“She could tell father and then he would kill you.” 

“Calm down Arthur, before I wake her up and bind her magic, I will wipe her memory. She won’t remember what happened to her.” 

“Bind her magic?” Arthur asked. 

“Even if you have her hands tied together, she will still be able to do magic, so I will bind her magic so that it won’t work when she attempts to cast any spells.”   
“How long will that last? Because I have no idea what father plans on doing with her.” Arthur asked, worried that it might not last long enough. 

“Usually it would last a couple of hours, that should be enough for now. But I might be able to find a way to make it last for longer if I have to. We’ll have to talk about this later though. We are in Camelot. 

They had reached the outside of the citadel and it was no longer safe to have any conversation about magic. The Knights had stopped just ahead of them to allow the Prince and Merlin to catch up and ride in front, as is protocol in the Knights code. As they reached the front of the castle Merlin dismounted his horse first, walking over to Percival to help him lower Morgana down. Arthur joined him at Percival’s and together they got Morgana off the horse and held her up until Percival had dismounted. They then gave Morgana to him to carry, and he slung her over his shoulder ready to carry her into the castle. Once all the Knights had dismounted their horses Merlin grabbed the reins of 2, while 2 stable boys grabbed the reins on the others, to lead them all back into the stables. 

“Merlin?” He heard Arthur call. “Where are you going?” 

“I’m taking the horses to the stables sire.” Merlin replied. 

Arthur looked like he was struggling for words, or maybe he was just struggling to figure out how he was going to say what he needed to say without letting any big secrets out. “What about Morgana?” 

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Everyone will just think that I hit her really hard.” Merlin said, smiling before walking towards the stables and tying the horses up as quick as possible so that he could get back to the castle.


	2. Happily Ever After

Arthur POV  
Arthur was walking in front of the Knights through the castle halls towards the main hall where the royal court was held. Everyone would be waiting for them in there already, as they would know by now that they had returned with Morgana. Arthur pushed through the doors and everyone gasped when they saw Percival walk through holding Morgana. 

“Arthur. You weren’t even gone a day, you couldn’t possibly have reached Ealdor and returned already.” Uther stated as his son and Knights walked into the hall. 

“We didn’t reach Ealdor Sire. We crossed paths with Morgana much sooner than expected.” Arthur explained. Arthur had been thinking on the ride back to Camelot. He couldn’t tell his father the truth of everything that had happened, fore he would surely have Merlin executed if he did, however he had to tell him something as he was definitely going to ask for a detailed account for what happened. So, he had come up with a story that was partially true, and only partially a lie. The only problem he had was that he had been unable to tell the Knights or even Merlin of his story, luckily though, they were loyal to him and would therefore most likely agree on any story that Arthur told without questioning his reasons for lying. 

“Well tell us everything, it’s late and we all wish to retire. How did this happen?” Uther asked. More like demanded really, but Arthur was used to it, so he just started his story on what had happened. 

“Around midday we stopped in a clearing near a river to eat. Whilst we were eating, Morgana snuck up on us. We were unable to fight her as she had cast some magic preventing us moving. While we were stuck, she spoke to us and we tried to convince her against her vendetta for Camelot. We had been talking to her for around 15 minutes when I saw Merlin very slowly and quietly walking up behind her with a tree branch. I hadn’t realised that he wasn’t with us when Morgana had arrived, but it was a good thing he wasn’t. Just as he was walking up behind her, she decided that she was done with us and was about to cast a spell when Merlin hit her in the back of the head with the tree branch. She fell to the ground instantly unconscious, so we got her onto a horse and headed back to Camelot. She has been unconscious since. He must have hit her rather hard.” Arthur explained, hoping that his father was going to believe his story, after all he had seen the size of Merlin, and he definitely didn’t look like he could knock anyone out. Well except for maybe himself with his horrible clumsiness. 

“Where is this Merlin then? He is your servant, isn’t he?” 

“Yes, he is sire, he is just putting our horses in the stables and then he shall be here.” Arthur was hoping he would hurry up, when Merlin opened the doors and walked through. He stalled for a moment, standing just inside the doors as though slightly unsure as to where he was meant to be. He looked towards Arthur for directions, so he motioned Merlin to his side. 

“Uhh Merlin, I have heard that we have you to thank for Morgana being here. You knocked her out with a tree branch.” Uther stated, it was clear that he was looking for a lie in Arthur’s words and was hoping to see Merlin look towards his son for confirmation that he was too agree. Uther was also hoping to find a reason to not believe the servant and lock him up. He hated taking a servant’s words over a knights. To him servants were worthless. Instead, Merlin looked straight at Uther as he responded. 

“Yes sire, the Prince and Knights of Camelot were in danger and I had to help. I was doing my duty.” Merlin stated smoothly. Uther could not possibly find a lie in his words as he spoke with such conviction. 

“Someone get some water and wake her up.” Uther requested. 

“I will go sire.” Arthur stated quickly before any one else could. “Merlin, would you help me?” 

“Yes sire.” Merlin responded without hesitation. 

Once they were outside the room and walked a fair enough distance to stop anyone hearing them. Arthur turned to face Merlin. “Merlin, I need you to do exactly what I tell you. Firstly, can you conjure a bucket a of water? Secondly, I need you to bind Morgana’s magic before you wake her up, but please don’t let my father see your eyes. Once her magic is bound I will tip the water onto her face and you will awaken her as it hits her. Is that understood?” 

“Absolutely Arthur.” Merlin said. He watched as Merlin looked up and down the corridor to make sure no one could see them, then his eyes glowed golden as he conjured up a bucket of water. With water in hand they both made there way back towards the hall, but Merlin stopped just outside. Once again, his eye’s glowed gold as he whispered something that Arthur didn’t understand, then he turned to Arthur before also whispering, “Her magic is bound,” before they entered the hall. 

“I have the water sire.” Arthur said as he walked towards his father. “Percival, can you place Morgana on the floor?” 

Percival placed Morgana so that she was lying on the floor and Arthur glanced briefly at Merlin to check that he was ready. When he received a very subtle nod from the boy, he poured the water onto Morgana’s face. Arthur didn’t see Merlin perform his magic, but he knew he had done it because the second the water touched Morgana’s face, she sat bolt upright sputtering and looking around in confusion, trying to figure out where she was and how she got there. Once she turned her head enough to see the King her expression became a mixture of fury and fear. 

“Uther!” She said in disbelief, starring at him as though hoping he was some hallucination that would disappear at any second.

“Hello Morgana.” Uther replied with a hard smile. “How lovely to see you again.” 

Arthur stood to the side with Merlin. He wanted to block him from any path of vision Morgana would have if she turned their direction. He believed that Merlin was a capable Sorcerer, but he was still worried that his memory wipe may not have taken effect, and therefore didn’t want to risk the chance that his father could find out about his secret. It was this fear that had Arthur suddenly seeing a possible future in his head, showing him what would happen if Uther found out Merlin practised magic. He could see all the options of death that Uther could choose for him, seeing Merlin being burned alive at the stake was the worst in Arthur’s opinion. When he finally tuned back into what was being said, he found that Uther had a look of clear judgment on his face, as he had obviously recapped everything that Morgana had done to try and destroy Camelot. The court was about to find out what decision he had made for Morgana’s punishment. Morgana however looked determined, she obviously had a plan to get out of here but was waiting for Uther’s final judgement before she would act. 

“In accordance with the laws of Camelot, you have been charged with treason against Camelot, attacks against the Knights and Prince of Camelot and with practising magic. As a result, you will be sentenced to death by beheading. You will be executed at dawn. Guards take her to the cells.” Uther had handed down his sentence, and Morgana was ready to fight. 

Before the guards reached her, Morgana jumped to her feet, starring straight into the Kings eyes as she did. “You will never execute me Uther Pendragon. I have power you could only dream of having, you will never be able to hold me.” Morgana then raised her hands in front of her, eye’s glowing gold, and started to incant a spell. When she noticed that nothing had happened, she lost the cruel smile that had been in place on her face, a smile that had been replaced by a look of pure horror. “My magic! What has happened to my magic?” She demanded, no one answered her. 

“It would seem as though I will be able to hold you Morgana. Guards, you may now take her to the cells.” Uther ordered. 

As soon as Morgana had left the room and the court was dismissed Arthur watched as Merlin crossed the room to Gaius’s side, before they both very quickly left the room together. Arthur assumed it was so that Merlin could explain what had really happened on their task to the court physician. Arthur really wanted to talk to Merlin, but before he could also leave the hall and at least wait for him in his Chambers he was called by his father, and therefore had to stay and talk to him first. 

 

Merlin POV 

As soon as the court was dismissed Merlin found Gaius and hurried to his side so that they could talk about what had really happened with Morgana. Once they had reached Gaius’s quarters and the door was shut so that they couldn’t be overheard, Merlin started to explain everything that had really happened to Gaius. When he finished Gaius had a look of utter disbelief on his face, as though he hadn’t believed a single word of Merlins story and was making it painfully obvious. 

“I swear that is what happened Gaius.” Merlin said. 

“It’s not the story, Merlin. I believe that is what really happened.” Gaius replied. 

“Then why do you look like you don’t believe me?” Merlin asked. 

“Arthur knows you have magic?” Gaius asked. 

“Yes, he said that he has known for a long time that I have magic. Apparently, I haven’t been being quite as careful as I thought I was when using it to save his life.”

“Then how are you still alive?” This was clearly the part that had Gaius the most perplexed. As had Merlin also, Gaius had heard Arthur agree with his father’s opinion of magic and had even seen Arthur fight against it. So why hadn’t he turned Merlin in by now?

“I’m not so sure myself. He said that he has seen that magic can be good, not all bad as he has seen me save his Knights and his own lives so many times now. He believes that not all magic is bad and therefore will not turn me into Uther for it.” Merlin explained. Still not entirely sure why Arthur had acted the way that he had about his magic.

“I guess you need to be more careful with it then. For now Arthur may be okay with it, but some things change. Just be careful Merlin, please.” 

“I will Gaius, I promise.” As he said it, Merlin made a vow to himself to be more careful as well. Gaius was right. For now Arthur was fine with it, but one day some event might happen that will make him change his mind. Merlin would watch for the signs, and if it ever looked like Arthur was going to change his mind, he would be ready to wipe his memory of all knowledge of his magic. It would be horrible to have to hide his secret from Arthur again, but at least he could save his life whenever necessary. 

After a long day, Merlin was sent to lie down and rest for a while whilst Gaius made dinner. An hour later he was eating with Gaius when he suddenly remembered that his binding spell on Morgana would only last a few hours, she would be close to being able to use her magic again. He needed to put a longer lasting bind on her immediately. Roughly 12 hours should be long enough, by then she would no longer be able to use any magic anyway. With a quick explanation to Gaius of what he had to do, and a promise that he would be careful, Merlin left the room and hurried along corridors and up and down staircases to reach the cells. Once there he took out a small poultice that he had grabbed before leaving his room and rolled it into the middle of the room where the guards were playing a game, saying a quick incantation to set it on fire, and watching as the smoke forced the guards to fall asleep. Grabbing a touch off the wall to light his way, Merlin started to walk through the cells to find the one where Morgana was being held. He heard her before he saw her just before he rounded a corner where her cell was. She was staring at her hands in fury, still incanting spells and trying to make them work. At least Merlin knew that he was in time and that her magic had not been unbound. With the spell that binds magic for the amount of time he needed in his head, Merlin hid around the corner enough to still see Morgana, raised his hand, and said the spell. He was only just in time, as he saw a spark of light from Morgana’s hand just as he finished saying the spell. Unsure as to whether it had definitely worked, he hid there a minute longer to see the smile that took over half of Morgana’s face before she tried again and got nothing. Merlin’s spell had worked. As he turned to find his way out of the cells again, Merlin heard a loud scream behind him. Smiling, he left the cells and headed back to Gaius’s quarters. Come morning Morgana would no longer be a threat to the people on Camelot. 

He had just shut his bedroom door behind him when a guard knocked on their door and was let in by Gaius. The knock caused Merlin to exit his room and see the guard standing in the doorway. 

“The Prince requests your presence.” Was all he said before he turned and left again. 

Merlin sighed, turned to face Gaius and said, “A servants work is never done,” before he turned back around and left the room, headed towards the Prince’s Chambers. 

Arthur POV 

It had been nearly 2 hours since Arthur had returned to his chambers, hoping to find Merlin waiting for him, or that he would arrive very soon. However, neither had occurred. Starting to get restless as he really needed to talk to his servant, Arthur stepped outside his chambers and found a guard who he gave a message to deliver. Re-entering his chambers, Arthur moved to stand at the window, looking out into the courtyard below. There weren’t very many people about, mostly just a few servants that had finished work for the day and were going home to their own families, and a few guards that were standing around watching for any trouble. Getting impatient now, Arthur started to tap his foot on the floor as he continued to stare out the window until he heard his door being pushed opened and turned around to see Merlin entering. 

Arthur didn’t give Merlin a chance to speak before he was already talking. “Merlin, that spell binding Morgana’s magic only lasted a few hours you said. Well it has been a few hours, she could be able to preform magic again which means that she could escape and cause a lot of damage and…” Arthur trailed off and didn’t finish what he was saying as he finally noticed the large smile that was plastered across Merlins face. ‘What the hell?’ He thought. ‘Why is Merlin smiling about this? This is serious!’ Then he suddenly realised the meaning behind it. “You’ve already fixed that haven’t you?” 

“Yes Sire.” Merlin replied. 

Now that he knew that Morgana was taken care of, Arthur had relaxed slightly before remembering some of the events of the day. Such as Merlin lying on the forest ground screaming in absolute agony. Arthur was now worried about him instead. Maybe the spell had a lasting effect. He could still be in pain and just not letting anyone know. Arthur decided to check. 

“Are you alright Merlin?” He asked with concern etched in every corner of his face. 

Merlin looked quite confused about that question. It wasn’t something he was used to hearing. “I’m fine sire.” 

“Stop calling me sire.” Arthur ordered. It was unnecessary when they were alone. Merlin never called him sire when they were alone anyway. “Are you sure? You were in a lot of pain earlier, I wasn’t sure if there were any after effects of the spell.” 

“Ohh, no there weren’t. I’m fine. I barely remember those few minutes anyway, I think when I blacked out some of my memory went. I’m glad though, I don’t think I want to remember what she did to me.” 

“I shall never forget.” Arthur whispered, not realising that Merlin could hear him. 

“What?” Merlin asked sounding shocked. 

“I didn’t say anything.” Arthur responded, slightly panicked. 

“Yes, you did. You said you would never forget. What does that mean?” 

“It doesn’t mean anything. The sound of your screams was horrible, that’s all. It is a sound I will never forget. They were so bad it was clear that you were in immense pain. That’s not something that is easy to forget.” Arthur was trying to be calculating with his answer, but he had accidentally said slightly too much, and it was just what Merlin needed to hear to ask the perfect question to make Arthur’s defences break away. 

“Why would you care if I was in immense pain? I’m just a servant. You have no reason to care about me. If something happened you would just find a new servant and carry on with your life, forgetting I ever even existed.” 

Arthur couldn’t control his emotions or his words anymore, everything that he had been feeling all day was suddenly spilling out of his mouth. “How could you even ask something like that? Of course I care about you. Why wouldn’t I? Do you have any idea how much pain it caused me to see you on the ground in pain? It felt like someone was punching a hole through my chest every time I heard a new scream being ripped out of you. Being unable to move to help you was the worst thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. And I have experienced a lot of horrific things, Merlin.” Arthur was panting for breath when he finished speaking, and Merlin was quick to reply, therefore Arthur didn’t even have a chance to think about what he was going say. 

“Why” Merlin asked. 

“Because I love you!” Arthur blurted out before he could stop himself. As soon as he realised what he had done he clapped his hands over his mouth in fear. ‘Shit, he had ruined everything. Merlin was going to quit for sure now, and he would never see him again. He would probably go back to Ealdor with his mother.’ Arthur was just about to run away when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and suddenly, he was being pulled into a tight embrace, and lips were being pressed against his own. He could feel the way that Merlin was hesitating in the pressure that was being applied. Merlin was unsure as to whether his actions would be welcomed. Arthur felt Merlin start to pull back and was so confused by the kiss that he didn’t stop him. ‘Does this mean that Merlin likes me to?’ He thought. Before he could figure out something to say however, Merlin had turned and was heading for the door. 

Shaking himself out of his current state of confusion, Arthur stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Merlin’s arm before he had managed to open the door. Instead of saying anything intelligent though, he asked, “Why did you kiss me?” 

Merlin blushed and turned his head away from Arthur to answer. “I would have thought that was obvious. I love you too Arthur. I have done since the night I first saved your life.”  
Arthur couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All these years that Merlin had been his servant he could have had him, but he didn’t know. Now that the truth was out there was no point in Arthur restraining himself anymore, so he used the grip he already had on Merlins arm to pull the boy back towards him and into his body. Merlin was pressed tight against him, Arthurs hands on Merlins waist and Merlins hands on Arthur’s upper arms. “Do you want me Merlin?” Arthur whispered. 

Instead of an answer, Merlin leant forward and kissed Arthur with all the passion that he had. Arthur kissed Merlin back with just as much passion, making sure that he put all the relief he felt that Merlin was okay after earlier into it. After a couple of minutes Merlin pulled away and Arthur chased his lips, not wanting to stop kissing Merlin. Merlin laughed lightly at the way Arthur chased him. 

“Arthur.” Merlin whispered in a husky voice that just made the Prince want him even more. “I want you. I want all of you”

“What do you want me to do to you Merlin?” Arthur purred into Merlins ear. He was so turned on already that he was finding it hard to concentrate and not get distracted. 

“Everything.” 

Arthur was happy to oblige and started straight away be claiming Merlins lips again, adding his tongue into the mix and moaning as he tasted the inside of Merlins mouth. It was a unique flavour, entirely Merlin, and Arthur couldn’t get enough. Arthur groaned in annoyance when Merlin pulled away, a groan on his lips that turned into a moan when Merlin suddenly latched onto Arthurs neck and started to kiss and suck on the sensitive skin there. Arthur was so distracted by the feelings that Merlin was igniting inside of him that he didn’t notice that Merlin had been slowly pushing him backwards until he felt his bed hit him behind his knees. 

Arthur was shocked that Merlin had been able to push him from the door to the bed without him even noticing that he was moving. He was a lot quicker than Merlin though, and before the younger man could nudge Arthur down onto the bed, Arthur quickly spun them around and pushed Merlin down. He liked the sight he saw in front of him. Merlin landed spread eagled on Arthurs bed, and the sight made his erection grow even further until it was straining uncomfortably against his breaches. Not wanting to wait much longer to have Merlin, he stared into his eyes to gauge his reaction as Arthur slowly pulled his shirt off, followed by his breaches, giving his erection some more room, which relieved some of his uncomfortableness. Once he stripped almost all his clothing off, Arthur crawled onto his bed, crawling up Merlins body until he was straddling his servants’ hips. 

As soon as Arthur had settled, Merlin lent up, placing hips against Arthur’s once again, causing them both to groan as Arthur instinctively ground down on Merlin, forcing their erections to rub against each other through their clothes. Merlin pulled back slightly, just enough to get his own shirt off without pulling too far away from Arthur. As soon as his shirt was off, Arthur grabbed him and bent his head to start licking and sucking at his nipples. Arthur felt a strange satisfaction in feeling the shiver that ran through Merlin as soon as Arthurs lips touched him, and the moan that he let out was obscene. It was much louder and longer than any that Arthur himself had ever made. He felt proud that he was able to make Merlin let out a sound like that. The only problem with it was that Merlin was probably going to be loud, and that meant that they were going to get caught, and that would be bad. Uther was never going to allow this to happen if he knew about it, therefore they needed to make sure that he didn’t find out. As Merlin was still making satisfied sounds, Arthur didn’t want to pull away, but he had to. Merlin let a groan of annoyance and frustration as Arthur did pull back. 

“Before this goes any further Merlin, I need you to do something for me.” Arthur said. 

“What’s the matter?” Merlin asked, looking concerned. He probably thought that Arthur was going to ask for something he wouldn’t do. 

“Nothing is the matter. You are just very loud, and father can’t find out about this. Are you able to soundproof the room so he doesn’t?” 

Merlin didn’t respond, and Arthur watched as his eye’s glowed golden, casting a spell without uttering any words. Merlin looked like he waned to say something when he was finished, but he didn’t get to. 

“That’s so hot!” Arthur said before leaning in and pushing Merlin into the mattress whilst he kissed him with a hunger that he had never felt before. 

The two stayed there kissing and grinding against each for about 5 minutes before Arthur could no longer take it, so sitting up he undid Merlin’s breaches and pulled them off, tossing them across his chambers somewhere. As he was tossing Merlins breaches across the room, he felt hands on waist, turning back in time to see Merlin pulling his underwear down for him. As soon as Arthurs underwear was off, he grabbed Merlins and pulled them off as well, however he was not prepared for what he saw once they had been removed. Arthur couldn’t believe it. Merlin was so small, all skin and bone, barely any meat on him, but his erection was huge. He didn’t understand how someone who was so small, could be so big. It made his mouth start to water, so taking a great breath, and summoning his Knights courage, he dived straight on it. 

“Ohh god Arthur!” Merlin moaned out loud, unable to stop himself from thrusting into Arthurs mouth and gripping the sheets with a vice tight grip. 

Arthur smiled around Merlins erection and kept bobbing his head up and down as far as he could, licking the tip every time he pulled back to it. Merlin was practically writhing underneath him at this point, so Arthur went lower with his tongue, ignoring Merlin’s sound of protest as he popped of his erection, and started to lick and suck at Merlins balls instead. Merlin gasped in shock when he felt Arthurs mouth sucking on his balls and then moving down to lick his hole. This particular act caused Merlin to lift almost completely off the bed. He was continuously moaning now, and Arthur loved it. He loved knowing that he was the one giving Merlin this much pleasure. At that very moment he vowed to himself that he would always give this to Merlin, would never leave Merlin, and would never let anyone else make Merlin feel this way. Confident that he had done enough to make this as painless as possible for Merlin, Arthur removed his mouth and replaced it with a finger, slowly pushing until it was all the way in. As Merlin was still gripping the sheets tightly, his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clamped hard, Arthur was not sure if he was in pain or feeling pleasure.  
ausing his movements, so that is finger was just sitting inside Merlin, he decided to ask before he continued. 

“Merlin?” He waited until he saw Merlin’s eyes open and connect with his own. “Merlin, are you alright?” 

Merlin struggled to find any words to say and therefore just nodded his head in response.

“Are you sure?” Arthur asked, he wasn’t going to do any more until he was entirely sure that Merlin was definitely alright, and that he wanted this to continue.  
“I-I-I’m sure. P-please Arthur, don’t s-stop.” The stuttering told Arthur everything that he needed to know, Merlin was not in pain and was enjoying what he was doing immensely.  
Encouraged, Arthur started to wiggle his finger a little before pulling it out slowly and thrusting back in at the same speed. It was a slow tortures pace, but he new it would drive Merlin crazy to the point of begging for more. It was begging that he wanted to hear from the young man he was with. Arthur was in luck tonight, as it didn’t take long for his ministrations to be both too much but also not enough at the same time. Merlin was moving his hips to try and make Arthurs finger move faster and to get it deeper. Arthur merely giggled and made sure his finger was matching the same slow pace, only adjusting slightly so that Merlin’s movements were essentially useless. Finally, Merlin gave in, “Please Arthur, I need more,” and Arthur happily obliged. Adding a second finger, Arthur moved very slowly for a minute to make sure that Merlin was still comfortable, and then he started to speed up his movements, thrusting slightly faster and harder than what he had been doing. Merlin arched his back and groaned a low, deep sound that Arthur felt all the way down to his throbbing member. Arthur had to take a moment to place his free hand down over it and squeeze a little to reduce the pressure and continued to work on Merlin until he was ready. 

“Arthur” Merlin cried out, “Arthur, I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m ready. Please, I want you inside me.”

“I am inside you Merlin.” Arthur teased. 

“I don’t want your fingers, I want your big, fat member to split me open. I want to feel you fill me up when I come on your cock and nothing else.”

Arthur groaned at the response. ‘Who would have thought that innocent little Merlin could be so dirty?’ 

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Arthur said then pulled his fingers out of him, and Merlin moaned in regret at the empty feeling. Arthur slowly kissed up Merlins body until he reached his lips and the two both opened their mouths to each other as they kissed deeply and passionately. Merlin broke off from the kiss with a moan, “Please Arthur. Serve me sire.” 

Arthur lent down to start kissing Merlin again while he moved one hand down between them to line his cock up with Merlin’s whole. “Just let me know if you want me to stop. If it hurts too much.” 

“I promise I will, just please fill me up, I want to feel you sire.” 

Arthur found that he was never going to be able to hear Merlin call him sire ever again without getting hard, even if he is in the same room as his father. It might be time to find a new title for Merlin to call him. Sire will never be okay again after tonight, except for when they are alone together. 

Merlin tried to relax as he felt the head of Arthur’s cock press against his hole, just as the head started to breach his muscle he clenched down again. Arthur’s cock was a lot thicker than his fingers and it did hurt a little bit. Arthur looked like he was about to pull back, so Merlin reached out and grab hold of his arse to pull him forward a bit further.  
Even though it hurt a little more than the first push, it also sent a spike of pleasure through him and he couldn’t help but moan at the feeling. “Please keep going Arthur.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Arthur asked concerned. 

“Yes, just keep going.” 

Merlin pulled Arthur further into him slowly until Arthur started to push himself in. Soon enough Merlin could feel Arthurs balls against his arse and knew that he was all the way in. 

“How do you feel?” Arthur asked him.

“So full. Like you’re splitting me in half.” Merlin wiggled his hips a little and when there was more pleasure than pain he said to Arthur, “You can start to move.”

Arthur pulled out slowly and then thrust back inside at the same pace, making them both moan at the feeling, “Fuck Merlin, you’re so fucking tight.” 

“You’re so big sire, it feels so fucking good.” Merlin moaned.

Arthur continued to thrust into Merlin at a slow and steady pace, and when Merlin moved his hips to try and get Arthur deeper his cock pressed against Merlins prostate as Arthur thrust back into him. Merlin gasped out loud at the sheer pleasure that shot through him. He hadn’t any idea that it was possible for anyone to ever feel that good before, but now he knew it was, and he never wanted to lose that feeling. 

“OHH FUCK ARTHUR” Merlin screamed, “Fuck, do it again, harder please” He begged 

Arthur started to pull out of Merlin and then slam back in harder than he was before, and Merlin just continued to moan as he was now having his prostate hit on every single thrust. It felt so good that it was almost torture, and Merlin kept clenching his tight passage around Arthurs cock, making Arthur groan in pleasure above him. Arthur had never known that this could feel so good. He had occasionally slept with a stable boy or two, but it had never felt as good as Merlin did in this moment. 

“You’re so damn tight Merlin, I want to stay here forever.” Arthur groaned. 

“Ahhh fuck Arthur, you feel so good.” A slightly harder thrust from Arthur made Merlin see stars and he groaned out a command of what he wanted. “Faster Arthur.” 

“Are you.. ohhh fuck… are you sure?” 

“Yes. I want it harder and faster.” 

Merlin only had a second to prepare himself before Arthur started moving a whole lot faster and pounding into him, with every thrust still pushing against that perfect spot inside him. Arthur could tell from the look on Merlins face that he was starting to get close, his untouched cock leaking heaps of pre-cum all over his stomach, and he wanted to touch his cock, but just as he made contact Merlin slapped his hand away. Arthur looked down at him a little confused about why he had done that. 

“I want to cum from your cock alone, remember?” Merlin stated in a breathless voice. 

This turned Arthur on even more, and he started to pound into Merlin even harder and faster than he already had been, making Merlins eyes roll back into his head and his back arch in pleasure. He knew that he was not going to last much longer now, the constant stimulation on Merlins prostate had to be drawing his orgasm closer.

“I’m so close Arthur.” He managed to breathe out.

“Me too.” Arthur replied. 

Suddenly the last bit of control Merlin had snapped, and he came all over his stomach with a shout of Arthurs name that could probably be heard from the main hall of the castle, his hole clenching tightly around Arthur. The extra pressure that Arthur could feel on his cock tipped him over the edge too, and he buried his face in Merlins neck to muffle his own shout of Merlins name. As they both came down from their high, they disentangled themselves from each other and laid down, Merlin placing his head on Arthurs chest, while Arthur placed his arm around Merlin. 

As they started to fall asleep Merlin flicked his hand and the bed covers came up to cover them before he whispered into Arthurs ear. 

“I love you Arthur.” 

“I love you to Merlin.” Arthur replied, falling asleep with a large smile on his face. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had been so happy. Merlin was safe, he knew that Arthur knew about his magic, Morgana could no longer hurt them, and Merlin was his. 

 

The next morning as Arthur woke up and blinked sun from his eyes, he heard the sound of drums. Very carefully moving himself and getting out of bed without waking Merlin up, Arthur walked over to the window and looked down into the square to find the scene of Morgana’s execution. She was being walked towards the stage by two guards, clearly screaming while she did, however her words were indistinguishable to Arthur who was at a distance and could never hear over the sound of the drums and yelling of the crowd anyway. Arthur knew that he was expected to be there, but for now he didn’t care. He would come up with a reason for his absence for his father later. For the first time in a long time Camelot was safe.

Right now, Arthur was going to go back to bed and lay with Merlin until he woke up. It wouldn’t be easy for them to be together, but they would work it out. Later on though, he could sleep for a little while longer first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it. I have been working on this one for months and i'm glad that i have finished it.  
> Please comments if you liked it or have any criticisms. Leave a kudos as well please if you liked it.  
> Thanks for taking the time to read my work


End file.
